Histamine is a hormone - a biogenic amine - that occurs in the body where it performs many important functions. It accelerates the healing of wounds, interacts with hormones, regulates the tension of smooth muscles. Histamine is also found in food. It is formed by bacteria and is harmful to he alth. If consumed in too large amounts, it can lead to pseudo-sensitization and even poisoning. Check what are the symptoms of histamine intolerance and which products contain the most of it.

Histamineis a tissue hormone from the group of biogenic amines. It is stored in the body's mast cells (cells of connective tissue and mucous membranes) in an inactive form. It is released only under the influence of various factors, e.g. temperature changes, tissue damage or contact with an allergen.

Histamine is also found in some foods. In food, histamine is produced by the activity of bacteria, not only those added intentionally, but also those that contaminate it. Normally, after eating food containing histamine, it is broken down in the intestines under the influence of a dedicated enzyme (diamine oxidase - DAO).

Histamine - role in the body

Histamine has various functions in the body - it regulates the secretion of hormones in the anterior pituitary gland, stimulates the secretion of certain glands (including the secretion of gastric juice). However, it primarily mediates the development of allergies. Upon contact of the mucosa with the allergen, histamine is released and the characteristic symptoms of allergy appear. Histamine:

If histamine is released too quickly, anaphylactic shock may result.

Histamine - content in food products

Histamine can be found naturally in food, formed during the fermentation and maturation process, or as a result of inappropriate storage and spoilage of food. Silage, cured meats, blue cheeses, but most of all fish and seafood are considered to be rich in histamine. Therefore, people intolerant to histamine should also exclude it from the diet, as well as citrus, which also causes the release of histamine from mast cells.

Fresh, unprocessed foods contain little histamine. Herthe amount increases significantly during food processing processes. It is assumed that the longer a given food is stored or matured, the higher the content of histamine in it. There are other factors that influence its content in food. For example, in the case of fish, these will be the species of fish, freshness, transport conditions, and refrigeration temperatures. It is histamine that is responsible for the characteristic smell of rotten fish.

It should be emphasized that histamine is a persistent chemical compound that does not decompose under the influence of increased temperature during frying or baking processes.

Products with the highest histamine content2

FISH (mg / kg)CHEESE (mg / kg)MEAT (mg / kg)
  • fresh fish - 0
  • broken fish - up to 1300
  • canned fish (anchovies, tuna, sardines) - 0-35 (up to 1500)
  • smoked mackerel
  • herring 0-10
  • Gouda 10 - 200 (up to 900)
  • Camembert 100-300 (600)
  • Cheddar 10-60 (1300)
  • Emmentaler 100-500 (2500)
  • Westphalian ham 40 -270
  • salami 10-280
  • osso collo 20-300
ALCOHOL (ml / l)VINEGAR (ml / l)VEGETABLES (mg / kg)
  • red wine - 60-13,000
  • dessert wine - 80-400
  • white wine - 3-120
  • champagne 15-670
  • wheat beer - 117-30
  • apple cider vinegar - 20
  • table vinegar - 500
  • red wine vinegar - 4000
  • tomatoes (ketchup)
  • spinach - 30-60
  • eggplant - 26
  • avocado - 23
  • causes swelling, itching and hyperemia - redness
  • in the lungs causes contraction of smooth muscles and increased secretion of mucus
  • stimulates peripheral sensory nerves, causing sneezing attacks
  • also dilates blood vessels, which causes nasal blockage
  • also causes redness, tearing, itching and burning of the eyes and swelling of the eyelids
  • in patients with food allergies, it causes contraction of smooth muscles and increased production of digestive juices and diarrhea due to irritation of the mucosa of the small intestine.

If histamine is released too quickly, anaphylactic shock may result.

Worth knowing

Histamine and alcohol

If you have redness after drinking alcohol, besides headache and stomach problemsThe face, décolleté, and rash that appears minutes or hours after ingestion may be histamine intolerance. This is not the same as being allergic to alcohol.

Histamine Intolerance

Histamine may cause allergic symptoms even though the allergen has not been contacted. The cause of this condition may be an increased concentration of histamine in the body as a result of its excessive production. However, the most common cause is a congenital or acquired deficiency of the enzyme (diamine oxidase - DAO), which breaks down the histamine contained in food in the intestine. If the DAO enzyme is missing or not working properly, histamine is not broken down. Excessive amount enters the bloodstream through the intestinal mucosa and causes allergy-like symptoms:

Histamine - how much can lead to intolerance and poisoning?

The intake of histamine from food in a dose of 5 to 10 mg may cause a pseudoallergic reaction in sensitive people. In turn, the first symptoms of poisoning appear at a dose of histamine in food above 50 mg / kg of the product: headache, burning mouth, hives, redness of the face and neck.1

The maximum content of histamine in fish and fish products is limited by the EC Regulation 1441/2007 and its level should be below 200 mg / kg of the product.

Over 200 mg of histamine per 1 kg of the product increases the symptoms and they are acute, with respiratory disturbance and lowering blood pressure.1It is worth knowing that the histamine content in fish and products fish over 1000 mg / kg of the product leads to scombrotoxism(histamine poisoning) , manifested by respiratory disorders, and may even cause death in susceptible persons. The most cases of food poisoning caused by the presence of histamine in food were recorded as a result of the consumption of fish products (mackerel, herring, tuna and sardines) and ripening cheeses.

  • headache, dizziness, migraine
  • irritation of the nasal mucosa
  • difficulty breathing
  • tachycardia, hypertension
  • disorders in the digestive system, e.g. flatulence, abdominal pain, diarrhea
  • skin rash, itching

This condition is calledhistamine intolerance.In its treatment, a diet with limited consumption of products rich in histamine is recommended. You can also use antihistamines.

How to distinguish a true allergy from a histamine intolerance? It is necessary to perform allergy tests. In the case of histamine intolerance, they are negative.

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